College basketball is filled with fun matchups. Kansas against Missouri. North Carolina against North Carolina State. Even Syracuse against Duke. They’re all games that garner some attention for one reason or another.

But for a rivalry to thrive, both teams must care mutually. No matter how intense Syracuse plays against Duke, and no matter how many bodies squish into the Carrier Dome year after year, the Blue Devils will hold the North Carolina game in higher regard. No one in Durham yells, “Go to hell, Syracuse!”

Once again, SU students camped out leading up to the Orange’s (16-12, 8-7 Atlantic Coast) matchup against the Blue Devils (22-5, 10-4) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Since two epic games in Syracuse’s first year in the ACC, the “rivalry” with Duke has declined in the past three years. But even with an uptick in quality of both teams, magnitude of the game and memorable moments, the Blue Devils can’t serve as SU’s premier rival. Duke’s taken.

“If you’re in that situation, you think your rivalry is just as good as Duke and North Carolina. There’s no question about that,” UNC head coach Roy Williams said. “… But there’s just some extra things that make Duke and North Carolina a little special because nobody else has that.”

Syracuse-Duke doesn’t have the proximity or the history to make it anywhere close to a premier rivalry in college basketball. The Orange and Blue Devils have been in the same league for only four seasons. The last time they played before that, SU freshmen Tyus Battle, Taurean Thompson and Matthew Moyer hadn’t even celebrated their first birthdays. Outside of a friendship between two Hall of Fame coaches, virtually nothing connects the two programs.

Delaney King, a senior at Duke and line monitor for the Cameron Crazies’ UNC campout, compared Syracuse to Maryland, Wake Forest and N.C. State. They’re semi-big games against opponents that view Duke as a rival, but Blue Devils fans don’t quite reciprocate. When SU visited Durham for the first time in 2014, students were camped out, but only because the home game against North Carolina was two weeks later.

“Duke in general is just one of those schools that everybody wants to hate,” King said. “So I’ve gotten used to it over the four years. People are going to want to see us do badly or beat us and I think of Syracuse as one of those schools.”

After two classics in Syracuse’s first year in the league, a window cracked open illuminating the potential of the matchup. The Orange broke an on-campus attendance record, set a school record for 21 straight season-opening wins and beat Duke by two in overtime. Three weeks later, C.J. Fair committed the most controversial charge in recent SU history and Orange head coach Jim Boeheim nearly ripped off his jacket in frustration. The meme still circulates the Internet.

“I remember thinking in that moment, ‘Holy cow, this is going to be fun,’” said Johnny Oliver, president of the student section group Otto’s Army. “It’s a little disappointing the relationship between the two teams went downhill a little bit, but I think there was no place for the quote-unquote rivalry to go because man, that first year, both games were just all-time classics.”

To get back to that level of intensity isn’t easy. Both teams would need to be among the nation’s best like they were in Year One. More important, Syracuse would need to prove that it’s not just like any other school that gets up for the Blue Devils since most fan bases do anyway.

The title of ESPN’s documentary, “I Hate Christian Laettner,” could be uttered by a North Carolina fan. Or a Kentucky fan. Or a fan of any college basketball team in the country, outside of Durham. Syracuse is no different in that regard.

The Orange’s annual meeting against the Blue Devils could be fun. It’s noteworthy anytime two well-respected programs meet. It’s invigorating anytime the Dome fills at or near capacity. But Duke-Syracuse isn’t a true rivalry. At this point, the Orange doesn’t have a true rival, only a deteriorating relationship with Georgetown since leaving the Big East.

Blame conference realignment if you want. Blame greediness for football money. Blame UNC for occupying a spot in the sport’s best rivalry. Either way, recognize Wednesday night for what it is. A fun game, not a rivalry game.

Paul Schwedelson is a senior staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at pmschwed@syr.edu or @pschweds.

Published on February 21, 2017 at 11:02 pm